Beijing sends fleet of ships to disputed South China Sea island ‘to stop Philippines building facilities’
- Number of ships sent to Spratly Islands reached 95 in mid-December in what US monitors believe was part of effort to coerce Manila into stopping construction work
- China, Vietnam and the Philippines all lay claim to the island chain
China has been accused of sending a fleet of almost 100 ships to hamper Philippine construction work on a disputed island in the South China Sea.
Beijing started sending vessels to Thitu, part of the Spratly chain, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) run by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The fleet of ships, dispatched from the nearby Subi Reef, includes vessels from the navy and coastguard along with dozens of fishing boats.
China Coast Guard on front line of enforcing South China Sea claims
The report said their presence was part of an effort to coerce the Philippines into stopping the work on the island, which China also claims as its own.
Satellite images showed that a Chinese navy Jianghu V-class frigate and Zhaoduan-class coastguard cutter were off Thitu on December 20, when the number of Chinese vessels had peaked at 95.
The report said the Chinese warship was just over seven nautical miles away from the Philippine navy’s frigate, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, at the time.